The Legend of the Kichaka Shetani
by fungusbrain1
Summary: An ancient legend disrupts routine life for a zebra officer, but something is different this time. What happens? First fanfic. One-shot inspired by a dream. Flames welcome!


**Authors Note: I don't normally do this type of story but I had a really weird dream that I decided to base a one-shot off of, and so this happened! So, this is not really my property it's the property of my subconscious so... let's see how inspiring my subconscious really is!**

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_"They say the demon was born when ponykind first stained the land. It was the separation between the Obassi, created to hold the tides of death and life at its maw. When the Obassi were unable to maintain their equilibrium, they began to consume each other and were, in turn, consumed by the demon in its insatiable hunger. The result was the Kichaka Shetani, the Bush Demon, with absolute control over life and death."_

The ringing of the station's phone was enough to wake Zuberi from his alcohol induced sleep. The station, little more than a shack with a few outdated telephones and a large number of firearms hanging on a gun rack along with the bottle covered table, was long empty much to the exhausted zebra's relief. He answered the phone as he perched his worn police beret on his head, covering up his short mohawk.

Once the crackling of the phone system subsided, the young officer began to make out audible words. "Hello, is anypony there? Hello?!" The voice, obviously distressed, had an quaint accent contrasted greatly from the ordinary one used by all of the locals. Zuberi could only pinpoint it to be from the islands near Shireland, which he only knew from the travelers he bought his booze from, leaving only one possible candidate for who could be on the other end of the line.

"What is it Dust Walker?! You know its very late, right?" The police, which was sanctioned after the most recent coup, rarely saw action as the locals gave little mind to the criminal activity in the area. The only, notifications they ever got were from foreigners dealing with drug cartels.

After a short pause, his response came. "Hi, I think I stumbled upon a drug stash while I was taking a walk." Of course. "You might want to come check it out."

Zuberi let out a sigh as he grabbed his drug identification chart, listing known drugs with pictures, manufacturers, and areas of operation. "I'm the only one on duty tonight so I may have to wait until morning. How about you just try to describe some of the contraband for me."

He heard some rustling as Dust began his explanation. "Well, uh... most of it is black... no... it might be grey... or maybe-"

"Do you not have a flashlight or did you just think it would be fun to only use moonlight?!" His irritation was being fueled by both his drunkenness and Dust's incompetence.

The shaken reply came almost immediately. "I don't see anyone but I think my light might attract some attention." It made sense, though the officer would never admit it. "How about you just meet me at the west river crossing and I can show you?"

This caused bells and whistles to go off in the zebra's head. "NO! You are foolish to think I would go into the jungle at night! You've heard the Kirani legends, haven't you?"

"The uh... what?" This caused Zuberi to facehoof.

"I can't believe this!" He leaned back in his chair as he prepared to retell the story he had heard dozens of times. "Back when the Kiranu tribe first settled the jungle, they had a legend about the spirit of the jungle, that it-"

"I don't have time for your damn stories, just give me the abridged version!"

After a grunt, the officer began to recollect his thoughts. "Okay, fine! The Kirani tribe had a legend of a demon that made its home in the jungle where they lived. The demon, which they called the Kichaka Shetani, was believed to be the portal to the afterlife. By tradition, when a chief died, a group of elders would take his body out in search of the demon. None of the elders ever came back and were believed to have ascended from mortality.

One day, their head priest had a vision. In it, the Kichaka Shetani told him that nopony should ever seek him out again or it would destroy their physical bodies and enslave their souls. When the vision had ended, the priest was stricken with a horrible disease and died within a matter of days, enough time for him to warn the village. Over many generations, disappearances of hunters and travellers were always linked to the demon. The villagers believed that the victims always found the demon, instead of it finding them, normally by stumbling upon it or hunting it to try to disprove the legend.

The stories often told gruesome tales of how it killed its victims ranging from making maggots eat them from the inside out to peeling away their skin and letting them bleed out. The most widely told story was that it would turn its victims to dust and that it embodied the form of a large snake. Of course, some believed it to be a ghost, shapeshifter, or even a pony.

The screams of them damned have only been heard at night. So I have no choice but to wait until morning."

As the story ended, fake snoring could be heard from the other end of the line followed by a short chuckle. "That was the abridged version? C'mon, I'll meet you a the crossing."

"Dammit you dumb bastard!" But his reply came to late. Dust had already hung up. Zuberi had no choice but to go. "I hate this job."

After an uneventful walk, he arrived at the west river crossing, the earth pony waiting for him. "Took your time?" His tan fur could have been seen from a mile away at this time of night, combined with his sweat covered burgundy mane it was a wonder he hadn't been found.

"What is your problem?! I told you the legend, didn't I?!"

"Wait, you were serious?" This caused him to facehoof again.

The officer took a few breaths to calm down so he wouldn't reveal their location. "Of course I was serious. Let's just get this over with, show me where the stash is."

The walk was only about a hundred meters but it felt much longer to both of them. The humidity left from the day only added to the 24/7 heat that seemed to radiate from the jungle. Dust was doing his best to keep calm but felt as though every shadow was watching him. Zuberi was constantly checking his corners, trying to keep his eyes closed as much as he could so he wouldn't find anything he didn't want to but decided the best way to get through this was to hurry up and destroy the contraband as fast as possible. "How do you know that story is real?" Dust finally broke the ominous silence.

"Anyone who grew up here knows they are real. I've had too many friends go missing to think otherwise."

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

As they found a small clearing, a series of tents came into view. Upon further inspection, Zuberi found all of them to be filled to the brim with methamphetamines. Some of the shelters had a few cots with fresh hoofprints leading from them. They were looking for something. "We should follow the prints to see where they could have gone." said the zebra, his training taking over.

"Um... ye-yeah sure." After following the the trail for a few minutes, it suddenly ended. "Oh no! No no no no! This is not happening!" Dust was obviously terrified. "Let's get back to that camp."

"Agreed."

After both of them sprinted back to the camp they were hyperventilating from both fear and exhaustion. Zuberi found his chance to end this damned investigation. "That's it! I'm setting fire to the drugs and getting my ass out of here! If you want to stay here, by all means do so!" He tossed a match and began sprinting toward the crossing, watching the shadows and doing his best to ignore his companion yelling after him. He just ran.

"Damnit come back!" Dust could feel his heart racing and sweat pouring down his back.

Zuberi saw a long shadow in the path. As he stopped in his tracks he used what little breath he had left to yell, "OH MY GOD!" At the outburst Dust realized he could only consider the zebra dammed. He turned around. And he did the only thing he could think of. He closed his eyes, and ran for his life.

The earth pony silhouette disappeared into the night. Zuberi let out a chuckle. "Dumbass." He knew he wasn't safe yet, he still had to get out of there. Then he noticed it. Whispering. Calling to him. Everywhere, all around him.

No, not like this.

He felt it. Petrified with fear, his body felt a coldness like no other.

The whispering became louder. Finally, the whispering wasn't whispering anymore.

A voice, that felt like the jungle and his very being resonated with it, began to speak to him.

_"Well, well, well... this is new."_

It couldn't be...

_"It seems that **I** have found **You**..."_

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**Then I woke up! It is done. This is exactly how my dream went except without ponies! Weren't many ways I could use that though now could I! Review! Flames are welcome! 'Merica!**


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